Noida Schools Defy Restrictions as Some Remain Open Amid Anti-Pollution Measures

Around noon on Monday, two teenage girls, dressed in brown salwar and maroon sweater, discussed Mathematics homework as they walked along the road in Noida’s Sector 50. “Our school is open. All the students from our class were present,” one of them said. Two days after GRAP-IV restrictions — strictest anti-pollution measures imposed by the Centre — were invoked acrossDelhi-NCR, issuing directives for schools to hold hybrid or online classes, schools in Noida saw mixed scenes on Monday. The girls are from Uttar Pradesh Board-affiliated Apna School, run by an NGO. Located in one of the lanes in Sector 50, the school operates from a building taken on rent, for students residing in the nearby slums.